Maestro of modular architecture sees savings

Peter Gluck founded his architecture firm more than 40 years ago, but these days Gluck+ architects is knee-deep in the newest thing. Last year, it designed one of the city's first modular buildings, The Stack, a seven-story, 28-unit structure, and then helped assemble it on-site in Manhattan's Inwood section in just 19 days. The technique features factory-built units assembled on-site, and may eventually provide a much cheaper way to build—at least on a small scale.

Mr. Gluck is unusual, since his firm not only designs buildings, but constructs them. He traces his affection for this integrated approach to the 1960s when he and his Yale School of Architecture classmates built houses on the weekends with their own hands. "We got very involved in the relationship between designing and building, and eventually saw it as a seamless operation," he said.

In 1992, rather than hover over contractors' every move on complex building projects, Mr. Gluck decided to build them himself. He argues that combining the roles of design and construction saves his clients time and money—and litigation costs since there is less chance for error.

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Mr. Gluck, who is 74, literally wrote the book on architect-led design/build in 2013, penning the latest entry on the subject in the American Institute of Architects' handbook. He credits the dual role with having made the The Stack feasible, since Gluck+ managed construction on the highly unusual project.

He is already looking for the next modular site. Meanwhile, he is designing and building a tennis facility in the Bronx's Crotona Park. There, he argues, the lower costs of design/build are especially important. "You can bring better buildings to the type of people who usually can't afford it," he said.

Correction: Peter Gluck decided to start constructing the buildings he designed in 1992. This fact was misstated in an earlier version of this article, originally published online Sept. 3, 2014.